SeaPRwire

SAF hosts Exercise Suman Warrior virtually with members of Five-Power pact

aseanpr
2 minutes

SINGAPORE - The Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) has successfully hosted the 30th edition of Exercise Suman Warrior, and for the first time it was held in a virtual format. The multilateral exercise is held under the Five Power Defence Arrangements (FPDA). It involved 132 representatives from the FPDA's member nations Australia, Malaysia, New Zealand, Singapore and the United Kingdom, the Ministry of Defence said in a statement on Wednesday (July 14). From July 5 to Wednesday, the participants took part in a command post exercise focused on the planning of land-based operations, the Ministry added. The annual exercise was not held last year because of the Covid-19 pandemic. Colonel Mohamed Feroz, Commander of the 2nd Singapore Infantry Brigade and leader of this year's SAF delegation, said: "The conduct of Exercise Suman Warrior amidst the Covid-19 situation highlights the strong commitment of member nations to the FPDA as well as the resilience of the Arrangements. "The exercise also allows us to learn from one another and enhance interoperability among the armed forces of member nations." Apart from Exercise Suman Warrior, the SAF also regularly participates in other FPDA exercises s...

SeaPRwire

SkillsFuture scam: Key member of syndicate admits to being director of fake training companies

aseanpr
3 minutes

SINGAPORE - One of the key members of a SkillsFuture scam involving nearly $40 million admitted to his role in the syndicate on Wednesday (July 14). Andy Quek Sze Leng, 41, played the role of the "dua beh gong" or "dummy director" of several of the shell companies that were used to dupe SkillsFuture Singapore (SSG) into disbursing money for training courses which never took place. Quek pleaded guilty over video-link on Wednesday to 21 charges which include cheating, laundering the criminal proceeds, and transferring funds gained from criminal conduct. A total of 49 similar charges will be taken into consideration for his sentencing, scheduled for Aug 18. The scam has been described as the largest case of fraud perpetrated against a public institution in Singapore. Under the SSG scheme, a Singapore business entity that sends its employees for skills training courses with registered training providers can apply to SSG for a subsidy, if certain conditions are met. This means a portion of the total course fee payable by the business entity to the training provider will come from the Government. Depending on the claim method used, subsidies are paid to either the training provider or th...

SeaPRwire

Man jailed 4 months for assaulting his elderly mother who has dementia

aseanpr
3 minutes

SINGAPORE - A man was sentenced on Wednesday (July 14) to four months' jail for assaulting his elderly mother who has dementia and is also a wheelchair user. Ling Heng Soon, now 64, had pleaded guilty in June to voluntarily causing hurt to Madam Ng Gung Huay - a vulnerable person. It was not his first brush with the law. The Singaporean was sentenced to four months' jail last November for assaulting a 60-year-old woman at Mei Ling Market & Food Centre in Mei Ling Street near Commonwealth Avenue in October 2018. She suffered facial wounds that left scars likely to be permanent. In the recent case, the court heard that he attacked his 84-year-old mother after she and her Indonesian domestic helper, Ms Eka Fransiska, visited his Chai Chee flat at around 7pm on Aug 7 last year. Soon after she turned up, the mother-and-son pair started arguing over matters that were not disclosed in court documents. Madam Ng then insisted that she wanted to go to the ground floor of the block of flats. Ling instructed Ms Eka to take Madam Ng downstairs, opened his metal gate and pushed his mother's wheelchair out of the flat. Madam Ng was in the wheelchair at the time. After that, he deliberately pushed...

SeaPRwire
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Travellers from Myanmar barred from entering Singapore from July 15

aseanpr
2 minutes

SINGAPORE - Travellers from Myanmar will not be allowed to enter Singapore from Thursday (July 15) given a rise in Covid-19 cases there, said the Ministry of Health (MOH) on Wednesday (July 14). From 11.59pm on Thursday, all long-term pass holders and short-term visitors with a travel history to Myanmar - including transit - in the past 21 days will not be allowed to enter or transit through Singapore. "This will also apply to all those who had obtained prior approval for entry into Singapore," added MOH. All travellers with recent travel history to Myanmar will also have to take an antigen rapid test (ART) upon arrival. Travellers with recent travel history to Myanmar who have yet to complete their 14-day stay-home notice (SHN) by 11.59pm on Thursday will continue to serve their SHN at dedicated facilities and take a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test upon arrival, said MOH. A self-administered ART has to be taken on days three, seven and 11 of arrival in Singapore. A second PCR test has to be taken on day 14 of arrival. MOH said the multi-ministry task force regularly reviews Singapore's border measures to manage the risk of importation from travellers and onward local transmis...

SeaPRwire
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Singapore’s first large-scale solar floating farm opens at Tengeh Reservoir

aseanpr
4 minutes

SINGAPORE - Having grown its solar capacity by more than seven times since 2015, Singapore is now one of the most solar-dense cities in the world. The Republic took one big step towards environmental sustainability when its first large-scale floating solar photovoltaic (PV) system at Tengeh Reservoir - about the size of 45 football fields - was officially opened on Wednesday (July 14). Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong was the guest of honour at the event. This latest solar farm in Tengeh, which has a capacity of 60 MWp, will contribute to to the country's plan to install at least 2 GWp of solar PV capacity by 2030. The project will give the nation's solar and renewable energy industry a boost, paving the way for more such facilities to be built here and in the region, Mr Lee said. The idea of building a floating solar farm came up a decade ago when Singapore was looking for ways to harness solar energy at scale. This became an increasingly viable option as the cost of solar cells came down. Building a floating solar farm also helped to capitalise on the large surface area of reservoirs and allow for solar deployment to be scaled up, the PM added. Spread across 10 solar-panel islands,...

ACN Newswire
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AmCham Hong Kong forms partnership with The Executive Centre

indie
4 minutes

HONG KONG, Jul 14, 2021 - (ACN Newswire via SEAPRWire.com) - The Executive Centre ("TEC"), the leading premium flexible workspace provider serving more than 35,000 members in 32 cities across the world's fastest-growing economies of Asia-Pacific and the Middle East, has formed a strategic partnership with the American Chamber of Commerce in Hong Kong ("AmCham") to further support American and multinational corporations' (MNCs) presence in Hong Kong. After 25 years at its previous location, AmCham has taken a private office at TEC's Two Chinachem Central Centre before relocating permanently to its new headquarters next year. During the tenure, TEC will offer exclusive discounts on products and services to all AmCham Members.AmCham, one of the most influential international business organisations in Asia-Pacific, has partnered with TEC to facilitate networking between two elite communities of professionals from diversified industries. TEC and AmCham have co-hosted various high-calibre networking events in previous years, setting a solid foundation for the creation of an even more dynamic platform to build relationships, share information, and grow business."We are energized about our...

JCN Newswire
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Hitachi Completes Acquisition of GlobalLogic

ruth
4 minutes

TOKYO, Jul 14, 2021 - (JCN Newswire via SEAPRWire.com) - Hitachi, Ltd. (TSE: 6501, "Hitachi") today announced that it has completed the acquisition of GlobalLogic Inc. ("GlobalLogic") pursuant to the terms of the definitive agreement signed on March 31, 2021. As announced in the press release dated March 31, Hitachi Global Digital Holdings LLC ("HGDH"), a U.S. subsidiary of Hitachi, has acquired 100% of the outstanding shares of GlobalLogic Worldwide Holdings, Inc. ("GlobalLogic Worldwide Holdings"), the parent company of GlobalLogic, and GlobalLogic Worldwide Holdings and GlobalLogic have become wholly owned subsidiaries of HGDH.With more than 21,000 professionals working in engineering centers, and design studios around the globe, GlobalLogic specializes in advanced digital engineering, experience design, and data services to help clients accelerate innovation and the development of new digital products and experiences, through collaborative creation on a global scale. The acquisition of GlobalLogic will enhance Hitachi Group's ability to deliver on its strategy to promote Social Innovation Business through digital technology to solve the issues faced by customers and society. In...

ACN Newswire
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Plato Data and Butterfly Protocol Leaders Announce Partnership to Leverage Plato’s W3 Blockchain and Integrated Data Environment

indie
3 minutes

US, Jul 14, 2021 - (ACN Newswire via SEAPRWire.com) - Plato Technologies Inc., the provider of the industry-leading blockchain intelligence platform Plato, will offer the newly created W3 Protocol & Blockchain Registry using the Butterfly Protocol. Butterfly is a premiere creation platform for new blockchain top-level domains and offers tools to build out domains for the decentralized internet and Web 3.0.The partnership has created a separate operating entity PlatoW3, Inc. to facilitate the governance, financing and operations of the initiative. W3 Domains will be offered exclusively through Plato to seamlessly interact with the secured data Plato generates. In addition, Plato will offer integrated packages that include data access, dApp hosting, decentralized web-spaces and mesh networks. Blockchain domains are rapidly gaining acceptance as the world moves toward Web 3.0 with a growing decentralized internet and distributed computing environment. Advances in technologies like 5G, satellite-provided internet, and edge computing are changing the way data is delivered. In addition, file storage is improving with hybrid cloud and local nodes providing a more robust infrastructure...

SeaPRwire

South Korea adds more jobs before new Covid-19 outbreaks force Seoul curbs

elean
2 minutes

SEOUL (BLOOMBERG) - South Korea added jobs for a fourth straight month in June, as a recovering economy kept the momentum alive in employment before new Covid-19 outbreaks triggered Seoul's toughest restrictions yet. Employment rose by 582,000 from a year earlier, the statistics office said Wednesday (July 14). The jobless rate inched down to 3.7 per cent, compared with the median estimate of 3.8 per cent by economists. The jobs recovery faces another setback, though, as authorities ramp up restrictions from this week to curb a spike in infections. Korea's economy has powered ahead this year on the back of strong exports and investment, but the prospect of a prolonged outbreak is now a key risk to the outlook, as the country muddles through a pandemic that causes more infections as activity increases. The latest rules, which ban gatherings of three or more people after 6pm and order some entertainment venues to close, are a blow to a service sector that was emerging from a yearlong slump. A government budget proposal now under consideration would offer some support to small business owners who have borne the brunt of the virus restrictions. The outlook for jobs will likely feature ...

SeaPRwire

Singapore economy grows 14.3% in Q2: Flash data

elean
2 minutes

SINGAPORE - The Singapore economy grew in the second quarter at a record pace due to a low year-ago base effect when the Covid-19 pandemic plunged the economy into its worst recession. Gross domestic product (GDP) expanded 14.3 per cent on a year-on-year basis in the second quarter of 2021, the Ministry of Trade and Industry (MTI) said on Wednesday (July 14). The strong growth was largely due to the low base in the second quarter of 2020 when GDP plunged by 13.3 per cent due to the circuit breaker measures implemented from April 7 to June 1 last year, MTI said. However, on a quarter-on-quarter seasonally-adjusted basis, the Singapore economy contracted by 2 per cent in the second quarter of 2021, a reversal from the 3.1 per cent growth in the preceding quarter. The quarter-on-quarter dip in GDP was expected because of tightened Covid-19 restrictions during Singapore's phase two (heightened alert), which stretched from May 16 to June 13. The flash figures for the second quarter however are lower than the forecasts of economists polled by Bloomberg who predicted year-on-year growth of 14.8 per cent and a quarter-on-quarter decline of 1.8 per cent. In absolute terms, GDP in the second...

SeaPRwire

Japan’s factory mood in July hits highest since late 2018

elean
3 minutes

TOKYO (REUTERS) - Japanese manufacturers' business confidence rose in July to hit a more than two-and-a-half-year high, as the country's export-driven recovery remained intact thanks to solid global demand, the Reuters Tankan poll showed. But in a worrying sign, service-sector sentiment turned pessimistic, as firms struggled with the fallout from the coronavirus crisis, according to the poll, which tracks the Bank of Japan's (BOJ) closely watched tankan quarterly survey. "The global economy is showing signs of recovery from the impact of the coronavirus pandemic," a manager at a machinery maker wrote in the poll. "But the outlook remains uncertain, as our customers are putting off business spending decisions because their budgets are on a declining trend." The Reuters Tankan sentiment index for manufacturers rose to 25 from 22 in June, its highest since November 2018, the poll conducted June 30-July 9 showed. The service index fell to minus 3 from a flat reading the prior month. The Reuters Tankan index readings are calculated by subtracting the percentage of respondents who say conditions are poor from those who say they are good. A positive reading means optimists outnumber pessi...

SeaPRwire

Chinese delivery start-up Lalamove weighs moving IPO from US to Hong Kong: Sources

elean
2 minutes

HONG KONG (BLOOMBERG) - Chinese on-demand logistics and delivery firm Lalamove is considering shifting its planned US$1 billion (S$1.36 billion) United States initial public offering (IPO) to Hong Kong, sources familiar with the matter said, as regulators in its home country crack down on the wave of firms chasing overseas listings. The company, which filed confidentially for a US IPO last month, is weighing a venue switch amid concerns about the uncertainty created by Chinese regulators' proposed new rules, the sources said, asking not to be identified as the information is private. While it is not clear whether companies such as Lalamove would be prevented from listing in the US, the firm is keen to avoid a lengthy delay in going public, the sources said. Deliberations are ongoing and Lalamove could still decide to proceed with its US IPO, they said. A representative for Lalamove said the firm continues to pay attention to capital markets but has no specific timeline and venue for an IPO. The fallout from the US$4.4 billion US IPO by China's Didi Global has thrown listing plans into disarray, after Chinese regulators barred the company's software from app stores and proposed new ...

SeaPRwire

US sees biggest annual inflation jump since 2008

elean
4 minutes

WASHINGTON (AFP) - The United States saw its biggest surge in inflation in more than a decade last month, according to government data released on Tuesday (July 13), hitting consumers and challenging the White House and Federal Reserve narrative that the price spike will fade in the coming months. As widespread Covid-19 vaccinations allowed the world's largest economy to relax pandemic restrictions, Americans have resumed spending and travelling but have faced rising prices for used cars, gasoline, hotels and airline fares. That trend could undermine already-tentative support for President Joe Biden's economic plan, including his massive jobs and infrastructure proposals. The consumer price index (CPI) spiked 5.4 per cent in the 12 months ended in June, not seasonally adjusted, the highest rate since August 2008, the Labour Department said. While the reopening is a boon to businesses, they are facing supply bottlenecks such as a global shortage of semiconductors that has hampered auto production, and also surges in demand, including from rental car companies rushing to rebuild their fleets. After sinking in the midst of the pandemic shutdowns, energy prices have rebounded, aided by...

ACN Newswire
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Mid-Market Organizations Gain Robust Multi-Way Matching Capabilities with Adra(R) by Trintech

indie
3 minutes

DALLAS, TX / ACCESSWIRE, Jul 14, 2021 - (ACN Newswire via SEAPRWire.com) - Trintech, a leading global provider of integrated Record to Report software solutions for the Office of Finance, today announced a new automated multi-way transaction matching feature in its Adra Suite to help mid-market organizations save time and reduce risk in the transaction matching process. With this new automated multi-way matching feature, customers can set up match scenarios and deploy intelligent rules to automatically review one-to-one, one-to-many, many-to-one, and many-to-many matches."As companies continue to grow, expand and adapt, specifically companies in the eCommerce and restaurant industries, they begin to realize that a manual multi-way matching process cannot effectively scale to handle reconciling new sources and higher volumes of data," said Darren Heffernan, President, Mid-Market at Trintech. "With our robust matching engine that is not typically found in a solution designed and priced for the mid-market, matching can happen daily, so transactions don't accumulate at month-end when you need time for higher-value tasks like analysis and reporting."With Adra, matching transactions with...

SeaPRwire
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OWNR Wallet Expands its All-In-One Cryptocurrency Platform Worldwide, Bringing Crypto to More People and Businesses

pandora
3 minutes

OWNR Wallet's cryptocurrency system aims to provide the best tools on the market for using crypto. Tallinn, Estonia / SEAPRWire / July 13, 2021 / - Cryptocurrency ecosystem OWNR Wallet announces its expansion to 216 countries, bringing its crypto-platform to more people all over the world. OWNR Wallet provides a range of ways for customers to receive transfers or make purchases using cryptocurrency, broadening access and removing barriers in the growing crypto market. OWNR Wallet is the easiest way to purchase crypto using bank cards. It offers a prepaid Visa card so that customers can use Bitcoin, Ethereum and other currencies to pay in-store. Customers order a physical or virtual card and can use it at millions of locations to make payments or cash withdrawals from ATMs. OWNR expanded its groundbreaking non-custodial wallet to more countries in Asia, including South Korea and Japan. The team worked to add more payment integrations to its platform so that all banks in these countries can work with OWNR's transactions. OWNR also expanded to South America, Oceania and Australia, and prioritized Egypt, Nigeria, Tunisia, and 43 other African countries to ensure customers in those coun...

SeaPRwire
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FinaWiki Releases Research Report on ‘Opportunities for Trading in 2021’

pandora
5 minutes

Hong Kong / SEAPRWire / July 13, 2021 / – Recently, FinaWiki (https://finawiki.com/) has released a research report on 'Opportunities for Trading in 2021'. 2020 was a year of rapid volatility on all the trading markets, and the sharp ups and downs attracted many new traders, among which many succeeded in taking advantage of the conditions. But as countries and businesses are recovering and adapting to the new reality, such drastic price swings aren't as common. So are there still opportunities to be found in trading for example on IqOption or IqBroker, and if so, what are the steps one may consider taking to start trading online in 2021? The answer is yes with experts from IqOptions (https://iqoptions.net/): online trading is becoming more popular and even if the intense volatility stayed in 2020, the possibility of considerable outcomes didn't. So, how to start trading in 2021? Novice trader, somebody who just recently discovered the world of online trading and doesn't know what the key points to consider are, needs to know one important fact: rash decisions won't bring any good. Many traders lose their hard earned money within the first couple of weeks of trading - they dive stra...

ACN Newswire

绿地控股业绩[半年红][一增一降三提升]奠定全年基础 冲刺[全年红]：稳中加固、稳中向好、稳中提质

tallulah
1 minute

HONG KONG, Jul 13, 2021 - (亚太商讯 via SEAPRWire.com) - 今年以来，绿地紧紧围绕[为未来五年发展开好局、起好步]要求，稳健布局[十四五]，部署早、启动快，抓得紧、抓得实，持续推进转型升级，推动高质量发展，取得了良好成效。7月13日晚，绿地控股（600606.SH）发布2021年半年度业绩快报，公司主要经济指标稳健增长，质量效益持续提升，上半年营业总收入2829亿元，同比增长34.74%；利润总额158亿元，同比增长3.29%；归属于上市公司股东的净利润82亿元，同比增长2.67%；基本每股收益0.68元，加权平均净资产收益率9.21%，保持稳健；经营性现金流量净额延续强势，较去年同期增幅明显。上半年，绿地主要经济指标稳健增长的同时，降负债取得超预期成果。绿地积极适应以[三条红线]为核心的房地产金融审慎管理制度，落实既定的路线图、时间表，推进降负债、去杠杆、优结构工作，现金短债比红线提前达标转绿，净负债率指标稳步较快回落，亦将尽快提前达标转绿，超预期完成既定降负债阶段目标。截至2月底，绿地[三年三步走去杠杆]计划提前阶段性达标，在稳健应对春节前后付款高峰的同时，顺利实现现金短债比超过1，[一条红线]提前[转绿]达标，比原计划整整提前一个多季度。截至6月底，有息负债总额较今年初再降347亿元，自去年推进去杠杆计划以来，累计较高点已下降超过1011亿元；净负债率较高点累计下降62个百分点，扣除预收账款后的资产负债率亦延续了持续回落态势。另一方面，上半年，绿地稳健按期足额偿还境内外公开资本市场到期债务本息总计近200亿元人民币及约4.72亿美元，并加大相关债券回购注销力度，已回购美元债券共计约6000多万美元。绿地控股董事长、总裁张玉良表示，上半年，在房地产调控不断加码、金融政策持续收紧的背景下，公司围绕[降负债、稳发展、促转型、强管理]的主线，总体实现了[一增一降三提升]的[半年红]成绩单，为完成全年目标任务奠定了重要基础。一增：主要经济指标实现同比增长，房地产业狠抓销售去化，狠抓现金回笼，狠抓交付供应，实现了较好的销售业绩和稳定的结转规模；基建产业抢抓机遇，着力调整业务结构、增强综合实力，业绩保持了快速增长；金融、消费等综合产业推进创新转型，进一步打响市场品牌，提升了发展能级。一降：降负债取得阶段性成果。[现金短债比]已提前达标转绿；[净负债率]亦逐步回落，将尽快达标转绿。三提升：发展质量持续提升。房地产及基建两大主业不断转变发展方式，质量效益不断改善。发展动力持续提升。不断推动体制机制改革，在相对困难的外部环境下仍然保持了较强的内在动力和活力。管理水平持续提升。重点专项行动全面推进，关键领域的管控得到进一步加强。房地产业积极应对调控，狠抓销售去化，狠抓现金回笼，狠抓交付供应，销售业绩较快增长，质量和效益稳步提升。...

ACN Newswire
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CropLife Asia Echoes FAO Call to Transform our Food Systems

indie
3 minutes

SINGAPORE, Jul 13, 2021 - (ACN Newswire via SEAPRWire.com) - With the release of the United Nations (UN) 2021 State of Food Security & Nutrition in the World (SOFI) report, CropLife Asia highlighted the need for the region's food value chain stakeholders to work together in transforming our food systems to better enable food security, improved nutrition, and affordable healthy diets for all.The challenge of achieving the UN's Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 2 of 'zero hunger' globally by 2030 has grown even more complicated with the broad impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. In this latest UN report, it is estimated that the number of people affected by hunger worldwide in 2020 was between 720 and 811 million people. This is a marked increase of over 100 million more people than in 2019. The prevalence of undernourishment (PoU) has also climbed up to around 9.9 percent in 2020 compared to 8.4 percent the previous year. This new report also confirms a sadly familiar refrain for Asia: our region is failing to deliver food security for far too many - particularly among the more vulnerable parts of society. Asia continues to be home to the greatest number of undernourished people wi...

JCN Newswire
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Mazda Installs Solar Power System at Hiroshima Plant

ruth
1 minute

HIROSHIMA, Japan, Jul 13, 2021 - (JCN Newswire via SEAPRWire.com) - As part of its efforts to promote green manufacturing lines and offices in factories, Mazda Motor Corporation today initiated operation of its first solar power generation system.Solar PanelsThe solar power system, installed at Mazda's Hiroshima Plant, boasts an output of 1.1 MW of electricity annually. The power generated by the solar panels will supply electricity to the entire plant and be used to charge the batteries of all MX-30 EV models produced at the plant.Moving forward, Mazda will strive to introduce and use green electricity in its efforts to reach carbon neutrality in 2050 to achieve a future where all of us can permanently co-exist with our beautiful earth. Copyright 2021 JCN Newswire. All rights reserved. (via SEAPRWire)

SeaPRwire
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New data-sharing platform for shipping industry aims to reduce inefficiency: Heng Swee Keat

aseanpr
5 minutes

SINGAPORE - A new digital infrastructure for the shipping industry aims to smooth out the kinks in cargo handling processes, anchoring ways for logistics players to optimise operations. This could unlock more than US$150 million (S$202 million) of value for the supply chain ecosystem in Singapore each year, said Deputy Prime Minister Heng Swee Keat on Tuesday (July 13). He hailed the service, called Singapore Trade Data Exchange, as a breakthrough for the industry, which is at present marked by "significant inefficiencies". "Logistics players face frequent congestion at depots and warehouses," Mr Heng observed. "They are not able to fully plan due to limited visibility of where the cargo is in the supply chain." In addition, shippers often have to complete multiple forms requiring similar pieces of information, while buyers are unable to accurately track their orders. Having a common data infrastructure will allow firms to exchange information, giving them access to previously unavailable or hard-to-obtain data such as real-time cargo location. This will help industry players optimise cargo handling and operations. The new service, announced by Mr Heng at the Asia Tech x Singapore ...